Erika’s trip home runs into disaster as the bridge floods. Preparing your vehicle for long-term travel is essential. To help ensure your ridge goes smoothly, you should ensure that certain maintenance items are attended to. For example, checking hoses and fluids. For a detailed list of items, visit The Changing Earth’s past article Cross Country Travel Kit, with James Hart. Medical emergencies are often a part of critical situations on the road. You should ensure you have a quality medical kit that includes a tourniquet.

If you have to travel a long distance to evacuate, you will face a new set of circumstances. Former guest, the late James Yeager, discussed traveling in flood waters extensively on the show. His advice boiled down to a straightforward sentiment, “don’t drive through the flood waters.” That means you need to have multiple evacuation routes planned and have a solid understanding of the elevations in your area. Visit Long Range Evacuation for more ideas to consider when you are traveling.

Flash flooding in the desert is not rare, and that’s precisely why the family finds themselves stranded. Desert survival creates a new set of circumstances. Even though it was just flooding, finding water may still be an issue. Using stone to reflect heat is typically intelligent. However, it is essential to mention that waterlogged stone could explode when heated. In desert areas, caves are an excellent area to take shelter. However, they must be smoked to ensure no other residents live there. For more reference on desert survival, visit our past interview with James Hart, Desert Survival.

No matter where you are stranded, you should first do a SWOT analysis. This involves brainstorming the strengths and weaknesses of your internal group and the opportunities and threats of your environment. The other acronym I live by makes the MOSTTT of your situation. This involves identifying your mission (why), operation (where), strategy (how), tactics, tools, and techniques. There’s much more to it than the simple definitions I provided here. You can check out the complete reference at Survival Acronyms.

Communicating in multiple ways with long-distance loved ones will help you stay in touch. Of course, we have cell phones, but what if they fail? Would you have another option? Satellite phones are an option but are often costly. One decent choice is the ISATPHONE 2, available through HopeForSurvival.com. If a satellite phone is not for you or you want additional communication resources, visit an introduction to radio, Communicating During a Natural Disaster, and Emergency Communications Scanning 101